Manually supported and selfpropelled pulling device



Oct. 24, 1950 F. M7 VARNEY MANUALLY SUPPORTED AND SELF-PROPELLED PULLING DEVICE Filed May 51, 1 946 Oman;

Patented Oct. 24, 1950 MAN UALLY SUPPORTED AND SELF- PROPELIJED'IPULLING DEVICE FredrM;Varney, Washington, D. 0.

Application May 31, 1946,'Serial No. 673524 4 Claims.

(Cl. Gil-35.6)

(Granted under .the act of March 3, 1883, as amended April'30, 1928; 3'70 0. G. 757) This invention relates to equipment to facilitate military maneuvers and more specifically to a pulling device for assisting in translational movement of personnel and material.

In landing and invasion operations military personnel is subjected to undue peril zandhazard from shore installations .and machine gun emplacements due .to the impossibility of facileevasive movement when partly submerged and encumbered by heavy equipment and while climbing steep embankments or scaling sea cliffs. Such personnel is .also subject while wading ashore to the hazards of an unseen bottom, cross currents, undertow and wind and under the load of heavy equipment frequently is overcome by falling into holes and beingsubmerged beyond its depth. Equally precarious are the insecurity of footin and hand holds in making steep ascents after gaining the shore.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide means which will assist military personnel in translational movement by forcefully propelling it in the direction desired for a sufilcient length of time to attain its desired objective either during debarkati-on and landing or while scaling shore line clifis.

As illustrated herein, the device comprises a drawbar and means for moving the same in translation, including a source of gas pressure and means through which the gas may be :caused to escape at a high velocity in a direction to exert a force longitudinally of the drawbar. The source of gas pressure comprises a gas generating means enclosed in a housing, to one end of which the drawbar is attached, and to the opposite end of which are attached nozzles. The nozzles are supplied with high pressure gas from the gas generator and are arranged so that the reactiveforce of the gas escaping from the nozzles acts to pro duce a force longitudinally of the device. Specifically, the nozzles are formed at the terminalends of a pair of oppositely disposed hollow. arms ex tending laterally and rearwardly from the housing. Preferably the gas generator comprises a solid fuel and there is means operable from-the drawbar end of the device for ignitin the fuel. The rate and efiiciency of burning of the fuel is dependent upon the gas pressure within the housing. Hence the generation of the gases and the rate of escape may be employed to control the rate of movement of the device. The nozzles are for this reason constricted to maintain a substantial pressure Within the genera-tingchamher and valve means is employed for controlling the escape of the gases to the nozzles.

The invention will'now ence to the accompanying-drawing inwhich:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal view in side elevation; 1 r Figure 2 is a plan -view-of the nozzles in sec;- tion; Figure 3 is a plan view of'a fragmentary :portion of the igniting mechanism partly-in section;

and

Figure 4 is across-section on the line 4-4 of Figure 3.

Referring to Figure 1, the device is indicated generally by the reference character Hl'a'nd comprises a housing I2, a drawbar +4 and propelling means IS. The drawbar I l-is provideda-t-i-ts free end with a handle I8 and intermediate its-sends with a handle or grip :20 so that the device may be held by one or both hands when :inu'se. The drawbar I4 is rotatably secured to'the end of the housing I2 in a manner topermit relative'move ment between thehandle and the housing about a longitudinal axis extending therethru, as indi cated by the conventional connection in Fig. 1 including the bar flange Ma and the cooperating casing race way member 12a.

The propelling means I6 is shown in detail Figure 2 and comprises a cap '22 threaded internally so that it may be conveniently secured to the opposite end of the housing l2. The manner of securing the cap, however, is not importanta's other means such as welding or riveti'ngmay be employed. Extending laterally and rearwardly from the cap 22 are a pair of hollow arms 24 having near their terminal ends constricted pas sages 26 and bell shaped mouths 28.

The housing I2 is composed-of a pair of hollow cylindrical members 30 and 32 WhiCh'aIe threaded onto the opposite ends of a cylindrical block 3'4 (Figure 3), of which the cylinders 30 a'n'd 32 are attached, has radial slots 36 formed betweenits end which extend into a central passage 38 which runs lengthwise of the'block soxthat there are diamet= ral radial walls 40. The cylinder 30 contains a fuel which is preferably solid; and which When ignited will generate gases which are conveyed Q to the cylinder 32 and hence to the nozzles 243 In order to ignitethe fuel there is provideda detonating mechanism which will now be described. At the fuel cylinder end of the block a central threaded passage 42 is formed whichextends through the end wall of the block into the passage 38. The passage 42 is adapted to receivea threaded plug- 44 which constitutes a delay. igniter cartridge, the inner end of which: projects be described with -refer The block 34, to the opposite ends into the fuel. The cartridge 44 includes a detonator cap 46 which is adjacent to that end of the passage 42 which opens into the passage 38. A firing pin 48 is provided for striking the aforesaid detonator cap. The firing pin 48 is carried by a lever 50 pivotally mounted in a slot 52 formed in one of the radial walls 40. This lever 50 is urged by a spring 54, mounted on the opposite ends of a pin 56 which extends through the aforesaid wall 40, to drive the firing pin 48 into the detonator cap 46. The lever 50 is restrained from such movement by a lever 58 likewise pivoted in the slot 52. The lever 58 has a recess 60 adapted to receive the terminal end 62 of the lever 50. The free ends of the levers 50 and 58 extend into a slot 64 formed in the diametral one of the walls 40 and the lever 58 has a lateral extension 66 which projects radially through the slot 64 and is engaged by a bar 68 which is slidably mounted in brackets 'HJ fixed to outside the fuel cylinder. The bar 68 extends rearwardly to a point adjacent to the grip 26 and has a knob 12 thereon which may conveniently be grasped by the fingers while maintaining a hold on the grip 20. The gases generated by the ignition of the fuel in the fuel chamber pass through a pair of passages 14 extending through the block 34 from the fuel cylinder 36 to the cylinder 32.

To prevent accidental operation of the firing mechanism, a safety pin 16, Figure 4, is mounted in a hollow plug 18 threaded into the diametral one of the walls 40 so that the pin extends through an aperture 80 in the lever 58 and a passage 82 formed in the wall. This pin is yieldably held against a spring 84 by a cotter 86 which engages its head, the cotter being passed through the walls of the plug 18 and being removable by a ring 88 attached thereto. In operation, the ring 88 and cotter pin 86 are pulled, allowing the safety pin 16 to be pushed out by the sprin 84 and then lever 58 is free to move forward when the rod 68 is pushed, and the recess 60 clears the lever 58 allowing the firing pin 48 to strike the detonator cap 46.

The fuel employed operates most efiiciently when subject to considerable back pressure. Hence, valve means is provided to govern the passage of the generated gas from the chamber 30. This takes the form of a cylindrical bar 96 disposed in a transverse passage 92 formed in the walls 40, that portion of the bar intersecting each of the passages 14 being machined out to form relatively thin fins 94. A lever 96 is secured to the bar and passes downwardl parallel to the slot 64 where its terminal end 98 is connected to the terminal end of the bar 68. It is apparent that after the bar 68 is actuated to ignite the fuel it may then be manipulated by the operators fingers to adjust the position of the valves and hence the speed of the device.

In using the device it is only necessary to grasp the handles l8 and 29 and then to push the knob 12. Upon pushing the knob 12 the trigger mechanism will ignite the fuel in the cylinder 3!] and gas will then be generated which will pass forwardly through the passages 14 into the chamber 32. The gases accumulating in the chamber 32 will build up in pressure and pass outwardly through the arms 24 and constricted portions 26 of the nozzles. The reaction force of the high velocity gas ejected through the nozzles will drive the device forwardly in translation. The fuel which is employed generates high pressure gas most favorably when it is under considerable back pressure. Hence the restricted passages 2 6- are provided to maintain a high pressure in the cylinder 32. In order to regulate the rate of travel of the device, the valve rod incorporated in the passages 14 may be rotated by manipulation of the rod 68 after the rod 68 has been employed to operate the igniting mechanism. As previously stated the nozzle arms are extended laterally of the casing. The purpose of this arrangement is to insure deviation of the highly heated gas jets from proximity to the operator. Since the drawbar is rotatable with reference to the casing the nozzle plane may be modified at will to secure optimum clearance.

As contemplated, it is preferred that these devices be made up of an inexpensive material which is expendable so that the devices may be discarded when they have performed their functions. It is, however, within the scope of the invention to construct the devices so that they may be reused.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment of any royalties thereon or therefor.

What is claimed is:

l. A manually supported self-propelled pulling device comprising a housing, a drawbar connected to one end thereof, said drawbar having a first handle near said housin and a second handle at the end thereof for grasping by an operator and holding at substantially arms length in a horizontal position, nozzles at the other end of said casing, a fuel in the housing, means for ignitin the fuel to generate gases for supplying gas under pressure to said nozzles, means operable from the drawbar end of the device for actuating the igniting means, valve means between the generated gas and the nozzles, and a lever positioned near said first handle for operating said valve means whereby the flow of gases to the nozzles is regulated.

2. A manually supported, self-propelled pulling device comprising a housing, a drawbar connected to one end thereof, said drawbar having a first handle near said housing and a second handle at the free end of the drawbar for grasping by an operator and holding at substantially arms length in a horizontal position, nozzles at the other end of said housing, an ignitable fuel in said housing for supplyin gas under pressure to said nozzles, an igniting device for said fuel, valve means in the gas line to said nozzles, and a lever positioned near said first handle for actue' ating said igniting device and valve means.

3. A manually supported self-propelled pulling device comprising a housing, a drawbar adjusta bly connected to one end thereof, at least two displaced handles fixed to said drawbar and 1ying in a common plane for support of said device in a given position, two lateral and reversed noz zles at the other end of said casing, said nozzles being angularly related to and on opposite sides of said casing and lying in a common plane extending angularly to the plane including said handles, a fuel chamber in the housing, means for igniting the fuel to generate gases for supplying gas under pressure to said nozzles, and means operable from the drawbar end of the device for actuating said igniting means- 4. A manually supported self-propelled pulling device comprising a housing, a drawbar adjustably connected to one end thereof, at least two,

displaced handles fixed to said drawbar and ly ing n a common plane for support of said device in a given position, two lateral and reversed nozzles at the other end of said casing, said nozzles being angularly related to and on opposite sides of said casing and lying in a common plane extending angularly to the plane including said handles, a fuel chamber in the housing, means for igniting the fuel to generate gases for supplying gas under pressure to said nozzles, means operable from the drawbar end of the device for actuating said igniting means, valve means between the housing fuel chamber and nozzles, and means positioned adjacent one of said handles for actuating said valve means whereby the flow of gases to the nozzles is regulated.

FRED M. VARNEY,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Ciurcu July 23, 1889 Haran May 2 2, 1917 Lesem Jan. 14,1919 Schermuly et a1 Aug. 6, 1940 Drake June 16, 1942 Farr Apr. 23, 1946 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain June 16, 1876 France Jan. 31, 1911 France Mar. 6, 1920 

